Knesset members to tour Homesh

Monday September 17, 2007 13:11 by John Smith - IMEMC & agencies

MK Ayre Eldad, of the National Religious Party / National Union, and MK Yuli-Yoeal Edelstein, of Likud, will on Monday visit the site of the former illegal Israeli settlement of Homesh, located near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli media sources have reported.

Aerial photo of Homesh

The ministers are expected to tour the site, attending briefings on land-ownership and the status of Homesh, and talking to right-wing Israeli protestors who have made various so-called “pilgrimages” to the site of the former illegal settlement which was evacuated under the terms of 2005’s disengagement plan.

The Israeli army in July forcibly removed around 30 illegal settlers from the former settlement. In recent months, Israeli settlers have illegally attempted to reoccupy the site on several occasions.

In August, an Israeli judge of the Juvenile Court ruled the disengagement law invalid, a move that removed prohibitions on illegally visiting the Homesh site, and compromised the legal basis under which such visits can be both challenged and punished.

jenin | israeli settlement | news report johnsmithimemc at gmail dot com